Showing 1–3 of 3 results for author: Isermann, H

Quadrupeds for Planetary Exploration: Field Testing Control Algorithms on an Active Volcano

Authors: Shubham Vyas, Franek Stark, Rohit Kumar, Hannah Isermann, Jonas Haack, Mihaela Popescu, Jakob Middelberg, Dennis Mronga, Frank Kirchner

Abstract: Missions such as the Ingenuity helicopter have shown the advantages of using novel locomotion modes to increase the scientific return of planetary exploration missions. Legged robots can further expand the reach and capability of future planetary missions by traversing more difficult terrain than wheeled rovers, such as jumping over cracks on the ground or traversing rugged terrain with boulders.… ▽ More Missions such as the Ingenuity helicopter have shown the advantages of using novel locomotion modes to increase the scientific return of planetary exploration missions. Legged robots can further expand the reach and capability of future planetary missions by traversing more difficult terrain than wheeled rovers, such as jumping over cracks on the ground or traversing rugged terrain with boulders. To develop and test algorithms for using quadruped robots, the AAPLE project was carried out at DFKI. As part of the project, we conducted a series of field experiments on the Volcano on the Aeolian island of Vulcano, an active stratovolcano near Sicily, Italy. The experiments focused on validating newly developed state-of-the-art adaptive optimal control algorithms for quadrupedal locomotion in a high-fidelity analog environment for Lunar and Martian surfaces. This paper presents the technical approach, test plan, software architecture, field deployment strategy, and evaluation results from the Vulcano campaign. △ Less

Submitted 21 October, 2025; originally announced October 2025.

Comments: Presented at 18th Symposium on Advanced Space Technologies in Robotics and Automation (ASTRA)

Journal ref: 18th Symposium on Advanced Space Technologies in Robotics and Automation (ASTRA), 2025

An adaptive hierarchical control framework for quadrupedal robots in planetary exploration

Authors: Franek Stark, Rohit Kumar, Shubham Vyas, Hannah Isermann, Jonas Haack, Mihaela Popescu, Jakob Middelberg, Dennis Mronga, Frank Kirchner

Abstract: Planetary exploration missions require robots capable of navigating extreme and unknown environments. While wheeled rovers have dominated past missions, their mobility is limited to traversable surfaces. Legged robots, especially quadrupeds, can overcome these limitations by handling uneven, obstacle-rich, and deformable terrains. However, deploying such robots in unknown conditions is challenging… ▽ More Planetary exploration missions require robots capable of navigating extreme and unknown environments. While wheeled rovers have dominated past missions, their mobility is limited to traversable surfaces. Legged robots, especially quadrupeds, can overcome these limitations by handling uneven, obstacle-rich, and deformable terrains. However, deploying such robots in unknown conditions is challenging due to the need for environment-specific control, which is infeasible when terrain and robot parameters are uncertain. This work presents a modular control framework that combines model-based dynamic control with online model adaptation and adaptive footstep planning to address uncertainties in both robot and terrain properties. The framework includes state estimation for quadrupeds with and without contact sensing, supports runtime reconfiguration, and is integrated into ROS 2 with open-source availability. Its performance was validated on two quadruped platforms, multiple hardware architectures, and in a volcano field test, where the robot walked over 700 m. △ Less

Submitted 20 October, 2025; originally announced October 2025.

Comments: Presented at 18th Symposium on Advanced Space Technologies in Robotics and Automation (ASTRA)

End-to-End Reinforcement Learning for Torque Based Variable Height Hopping

Authors: Raghav Soni, Daniel Harnack, Hannah Isermann, Sotaro Fushimi, Shivesh Kumar, Frank Kirchner

Abstract: Legged locomotion is arguably the most suited and versatile mode to deal with natural or unstructured terrains. Intensive research into dynamic walking and running controllers has recently yielded great advances, both in the optimal control and reinforcement learning (RL) literature. Hopping is a challenging dynamic task involving a flight phase and has the potential to increase the traversabili… ▽ More Legged locomotion is arguably the most suited and versatile mode to deal with natural or unstructured terrains. Intensive research into dynamic walking and running controllers has recently yielded great advances, both in the optimal control and reinforcement learning (RL) literature. Hopping is a challenging dynamic task involving a flight phase and has the potential to increase the traversability of legged robots. Model based control for hopping typically relies on accurate detection of different jump phases, such as lift-off or touch down, and using different controllers for each phase. In this paper, we present a end-to-end RL based torque controller that learns to implicitly detect the relevant jump phases, removing the need to provide manual heuristics for state detection. We also extend a method for simulation to reality transfer of the learned controller to contact rich dynamic tasks, resulting in successful deployment on the robot after training without parameter tuning. △ Less

Submitted 18 December, 2023; v1 submitted 31 July, 2023; originally announced July 2023.

Comments: Update publication info. Cite as: R. Soni, D. Harnack, H. Isermann, S. Fushimi, S. Kumar and F. Kirchner, "End-to-End Reinforcement Learning for Torque Based Variable Height Hopping," 2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Detroit, MI, USA, 2023, pp. 7531-7538, doi: 10.1109/IROS55552.2023.10342187

Journal ref: End-to-End Reinforcement Learning for Torque Based Variable Height Hopping, 2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Detroit, MI, USA, 2023, pp. 7531-7538